MAKING HEADLINES continued
C ARLYN TON S CH OOL DI STR IC T NE WS
arlynton-Montour
Remake Learning Day gave students the
opportunity to care for nature by learning to
repurpose and recycle. Students worked in the
habitat garden on school grounds to weed,
mulch and fertilize growing plants.
brought groups together to create
homemade bird feeders, compost bags, egg
carton butterflies, pop bottle terrariums and
solar pizza boxes. Students also worked in
the habitat garden on school grounds,
weeding, planting mulch and adding
handmade stepping stones made by
repurposing bottle caps. Members of the
local Crafton Community Farm stopped by to
offer advice for raising healthy plants and
representatives from the Audubon Society
were on site to help students learn about
local birds and their environments.
The younger grades made bird feeders
from all sorts of recycled materials. Using
the rind from oranges, these youngsters
added peanut butter and bird seed and
tied the miniature feeders in trees on
school property to later watch in
amazement as birds came to feed.
Volunteers from the Pittsburghbased Hefren-Tillotson once
again set their sights on Carnegie
Elementary School to interact with
students during the school’s annual
Junior Achievement Day. Individuals
from the financial asset company
engaged students in age-appropriate
exercises to foster collaboration and
creative-thinking. Junior Achievement,
with a commitment to broaden student
knowledge in the principles of a marketbased economy, has developed a
46 Carlynton-Montour
curriculum with various topics to help young
minds understand business and economics.
Carnegie Elementary students learned about
saving and spending money and the innerworkings of a small business or town through
simulated activities. Older pupils discussed
trade and embargo regulations and
sanctions with other countries. The overall
theme of the day accentuated the demands
of the 21st century job market and the skills
necessary to meet high-demand jobs in
science, technology, engineering and math.
Carlynton sophomores Amiyah
Jackson and Madison Todd and
junior Mariya Vasquez attend Parkway West
Career and Technical Center in the morning
and are enrolled in the Health Assistant
program. In the spring, the students were
placed on the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide
Registry after completing and
passing the state nurse’s aide
certification program and exam,
quite an accomplishment for
their age. The certification provides the
licensing for the girls to be gainfully
employed as a CNA or Certified Nursing
Assistant and is a notable stepping stone
toward a career as a LPN or RN.
Seven members of the Carlynton
High School track and field team
advanced to the PIAA finals in Shippensburg
in late May. Proudly representing the district
were Mackenzie Mangum, competing in
javelin, Shafique Patterson, in the 400 meter
dash, and Sofia Carrasco (alternate), Sydney
Franchick, Kylee Merscher, Arieona Smith-
Carlynton High School track and field students
medaled at an invitational meet held at
Chartiers-Houston High School. Front row
includes Sofia Carrasco, Katie Kozy, Sydney
Franchick and Giona Darenkamp. Standing
is Kylee Merscher, Shafique Patterson, David
Creely, Arieona Smith-Purdue, John Lewellyn,
Matt Hilarzewski and Marcus Jones.
Purdue and Ashleigh Wilson as a four by
100 relay team.
The Carlynton High School Interact
Club sponsored by teacher Chelsie
Fris took on a new project this year to
promote literacy. The organization collected
books to subsidize two Little Free Libraries for
Carnegie and Crafton elementary schools.
The little libraries are available during the
summer months near the front main doors of
the schools. Books are housed in small
wooden houses and area children are
encouraged to take a book, free of charge,
and return it to the library box after reading.
The goal of the Interact club is to build a love
for reading and a sense of community. The
Little Free Library is the conception of Todd
Bol of Wisconsin who established a goal to
promote and build over 2,500 free Little
Libraries across the country.
The Carlynton School District salutes
retirees Jim Nagorski and Cora
Pruss, two individuals who have dedicated a
combined 62 years to the district. Mr.
Nagorski, a sixth grade teacher at Crafton
Elementary, will be missed. His contributions
to the school district and his devotion to
students in and out of the classroom have
contributed to multiple honors in the past.
Most recently, he was named a finalist as a
National Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Cora Pruss
has served as transportation coordinator for
the district the past 16 years. In this position,
she was the first link between the
superintendent and the bus company when
determining student safety on cold, snowy
mornings. Mrs. Pruss has dependably
scheduled all busing for district students,
including athletic traveling and other
extracurricular activities. Also celebrating
retirement this past year were Nancy Martin,
high school English teacher, Michael Totin,
high school and elementary business
teacher, Jan Sweeney, district registrar, and
Michael Dudicz, custodian.
Jim Nagorski and Cora Pruss